Queensland political editor

The western Queensland federal election candidate who claimed Muslims were paying Aborigines to convert to Islam said she “just wants people to be safe”.

Rise Up Australia candidate Pam Hecht said the conversion of Indigenous people to Islam was one of the biggest issues in the sprawling electorate of Kennedy, which Bob Katter holds by 18.3 per cent.

Ms Hecht told ABC Western Queensland that her party leader, Daniel Nalliah, had been told “Aboriginal people in northern Australia are being targeted by Muslims and in some cases are being paid to convert to Islam,"

When contacted by Fairfax Media, Ms Hecht said “several Indigenous workers up north told him that was happening”.

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“And they expressed concern and I was expressing my concern at that as well,” she said.

“I see Australia's security as an issue. I think the methods being used [to convert people to Islam] and the fact that Indigenous people themselves expressed concern is a good point.”

Ms Hecht said she “would like to see some proof” that Muslims and Aboriginal people had been crossing paths for centuries, as detailed by several academics.

“I know that Indonesians have been coming down to the top of Australia, who is to say they are Muslims, I would say that's a guess,” she said.

“I have heard other variations on that.”

Ms Hecht, who on her candidate biography says she is a “fifth generation Australian on her mother's side”, said Islam put the nation's security under threat.

“Islam is not just a religion, it is a law, it is a lifestyle, it is a political system, it is not simply a religion,” Ms Hecht said.

“If you look at Hinduism or Buddhism, they are straight religions and they don't necessary include law in that, where as Islam does and I think any country would need to take a look at anything that threatened their law.

When told that both religions she had mentioned had laws followers lived by, Ms Hecht clarified her answer.

“You can choose to be a Buddhist and you don't necessarily have to live under those laws, you get the choice,” she said.

“But with Islam, they see your whole life, your political life, your school life, your religious life, they see it as one thing and in its entirety, they don't say, 'we live in this country, but you are allowed to practice any relation you choose'.

“They don't see it like that and my concern is that we do have freedom of religion here and that is a great thing, but we do need to make sure we don't expose ourselves to religion that is not just a religion, but it encompasses law as well.”

Ms Hecht said she was “not saying anything that no one doesn't already know”.

“With Christianity, if you look at the book itself, it teaches you to love your enemies.

“Now not everybody does that, I am not saying that Christians are perfect and I am sure that there are many moderate Muslims who don't like what is being taught in the Koran, but if you are comparing the books, I think we need to take a good look at it.

“Because looking at what has happened in Europe and the UK and the terror that is being brought to the streets, Lee Rigby having his head chopped off and a man saying the book told me to do it, I think you have to have a look at what's in the book.

“I'm talking about Christianity as based in the New Testament

“It comes down to what is fundamentally right or wrong with Islam and what is fundamentally right or wrong with Australian law.

If they weren't trying to impose a radically different law, it would not be a problem, that is why I keep bringing it back to security.

“I just want people to be safe.”

54 comments so far

Ignorant people really do not exist like this in Australia in 2013, surely? Please no.

Commenter

Chris

Date and time

August 31, 2013, 3:29AM

No, the ignorant people are those that cannot see the absolute social disaster of Muslim immigration in Western Europe. Only ignorant people would fail to see that Muslims are Muslims first and then after that Australian or whatever also see things like Islamic Republic of Iran etc. Ignorant people refuse to acknowledge the 20 suburbs in Paris that are off limits to all but Muslims. Ignorant people fail to acknowledge recent riots across 8 Swedish cities and the slaughter in Mali. etc. etc. etc. Ignorant people are to quick to take the dimwitted 'intellectual' line that we can have a rainbow society. Ignorant people should ask the Dutch, British etc about that fallacy. Ignorant people never ask why Muslims are trying to flock to the West yet hate everything about it. Ignorant people don't ask why they don't go to Muslim countries - Oh no social security in those countries. So Chris you are the one who is ignorant as people that recognize the looming social disaster are in fact streets ahead of you.

Commenter

Roary

Date and time

August 31, 2013, 11:02AM

You know that during WWI the Australian PM was Billy Hughes. He led an active campaign against Irish Catholics. WWII saw Hitler denouncing the Jews and moving to exterminate them. Today we have the narrow mindedness of Rise up and their fundamentalist Christianity. I'm surprised she doesn't want to start rounding up the gay's and lesbians in her community. In the US the Nation of Islam recruited Mohammed Ali in the 1960's. The entire population of African Americans did not rise up and become Muslim and try to take over the country. In fact I dare say that the African American Muslims have fared far worse in the US than the Christian whites.

Commenter

Oscar

Date and time

August 31, 2013, 12:06PM

Hey Roary, have you actually been to country with a strong islamic population?

Me? I was in Turkey 2 years ago which is 96% Muslim while on a European trip and I found them to be the most friendliest people out of all of Europe. And BTW people who make those claims live in privileged white neighbourhoods who don't go outside because they're paranoid idiots who think that anyone who is not white is plotting to kill them.

Commenter

David

Location

Gold Coast

Date and time

August 31, 2013, 12:17PM

David I first went to Turkey 30 years ago and camped on the Gallipoli beach. Been to Brunie twice, Malaya three times and going again in 5 weeks. I like Muslim people but their religion just does not allow for them to assimilate and never will. To the point where once dual citizenship is gained a lot of the girls in particular are sent back to the homeland for 'education' and find a husband. Then the cycle starts again they don't inter marry and when they are challenged or do not get their way there is trouble. So I'm not l red neck but no one can argue against what I wrote because there is no argument it's facts and it is not something that happened 50 years ago. Why of course do they not migrate to a rich Muslim country, simple they can play games with our legal system and get the generous social security. Very generous and friendly Western Europeans thought all would be sweet but now have an absolute social disaster which over the years will get worse and worse.

Commenter

Roary

Date and time

August 31, 2013, 1:23PM

Sadly, I feel when people follow strict religious doctorine they can be left open to abuse by people who use different interpretations of religious doctorine to manipulate them into war and other worrying situations.

Commenter

Javier

Date and time

September 01, 2013, 10:44AM

I want people to be safe too. In my electorate the LNP are preferencing these lunatics. Please put them last and don't follow the LNP preference card.

Commenter

Alex

Location

QLD

Date and time

August 31, 2013, 5:39AM

Thankyou for saying this publicly. And BT, thanks for publishing it. Islam is now a totalitarian political ideology with close links to Nazi-ism. Read up on Muhammad Amin al-Husayni, Grand Mufti of Jerusalem during WWII for example. Any good decent hard working honest muslim in Australia needs to have a good decent hard honest look at the ideology they are endorsing and either change it or abandon it. If they will not exercise the verbs they cannot claim the adjectives. I’m afraid this prejudice is not blind, but based on overwhelming evidence.Thank you again.

Commenter

James

Date and time

August 31, 2013, 6:02AM

Your history lesson perhaps needs to go further back to what the British did to the Arabs in the 1800's while building an empire. Lord Kitchener went as far as destroying the Mahdi's tomb and throwing his remains into the river only to keep the skull as a souvenir. Your reference to Muhammad Amin al-Husayni is about a leader trying to secure the sovereignty of the Arab states from the British. In history leaders have made decisions to assist one devil to remove another for support of their own peoples interests. I notice you have made no mention of Reichskonkordat, the treaty between Nazi Germany and the Vatican. There will always be fear and prejudice of people and things if we don't try to learn more about them.

Commenter

Oscar

Date and time

August 31, 2013, 12:54PM

More articulate in her response than that bogan response from Hanson's stooge politician thinking Islam is a country.

And saying something many consider to be somewhat factual shouldn't be considered controversial just because it is about religion. People are getting too PC.